Percy's Return
by Poofgoesyourface
Summary: Percy's going home, but can he?


**Aight... one shot Percy angst. Have fun with it and please review... Gets a little depressing though. Oh, just to warn you... contains spoilers for HP 6.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters and anything esle that belongs to JKR. **

**Percy's Return**

He stood before the door to his old life. But did he want to go through it? Did he quit his job at the ministry for nothing? His parents' house loomed high above his head, obliterating the moon. Light poured out of the window to the left of the door, and he could hear loud, happy voices inside. They were the voices of friends and family- his family. Was it too late to beg them for forgiveness? No, not beg, he thought. His pride would never allow it. His pride had restricted much in his life. Never had he been close to his brothers, for his pride insisted that he act superior. He'd continued with his job at the ministry because of pride. Pride had kept him with the ministry after it was clear that Dumbledore had been telling the truth all along. It was a big blow to the ministry to learn that Dumbledore's belief of Voldemort's return was true. Well, Voldemort was no longer a threat to the community. It was time to make up to his family. Yet now, doubt flooded his mind. They would never accept him. They would never accept him as one of their own after he'd sided with the ministry through the second war. Family would never have the same meaning again. Could he ever go back to the life he used to live? Would he ever be a Weasley again? Could he ever speak to his parents as a son again? Was there any going back?

He reached out to knock on the door. It felt as if his hand were lead, yet as if from far away, he heard the sound of knuckles on wood. The door opened and in the room beyond, everyone turned to look and fell silent. His mother had answered the door, "Oh, Percy!" She exclaimed and embraced him, sobbing. He stood stiffly, yet tentatively returned the hug.

His mother pulled away and looked back, dragging Percy into the room. "Arthur! Arthur! It's Percy!" She said, searching the room with her eyes.

Percy followed her gaze. Her forgiving greeting was to be expected, but it was a different story here. Fred, George, Ginny and Ron all glared at him from the fireplace while Harry and Hermione hovered near them, uncertainly. Many people from the Order were here also. Those who did not know him well simply watched the family hesitantly, while others surveyed him with varying degrees of dislike in their expressions. Moody looked as gruff as ever, and Kingsley's expression was carefully guarded. Lupin looked expectantly at Arthur Weasley who appeared to be frozen in shock. Percy met his father's eyes and flinched inwardly. The shock was passing slowly, to be replaced by unhappy disbelief. "Hello, son." He said.

Percy did not know what to say. It was clear that his father was not happy with his return. What have I done? He asked himself. He sensed movement and turned to see Bill rise from a table by Lupin and Tonks. To Percy's great surprise, Fleur Delacour was seated in the chair next to Bill's.

"Welcome home Perce." Said Bill, offering a hand. He was a smiling, and a very small weight lifted from Percy's shoulders.

"Hello, Bill" Percy shook his older brother's hand and surveyed his face. He was no longer the handsome man he used to be. Deep scars ran along his cheeks and face, and he wondered what else he'd missed.

Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, her eyes swimming in tears of joy. What have I done? He asked himself again. Very few people looked happy to see him, he noted as the room slowly returned to its original noise and excitement. Lupin was one of the few who did not look resentful. He was not smiling, but the way he looked at Percy's father when he first came in indicated good. Percy sensed something close to pride in Lupin's expression now. Next to Lupin sat the auror, Tonks. Percy did not know her well, but she looked at him with a quizzical frown. Lupin beckoned to him and Percy left his mother and Bill to sit down next to him.

"Hello Lupin." Percy said. He didn't know what to think of Lupin. He hadn't expected Lupin to reject him, but wasn't sure if his feelings were good or bad. He glanced at the group around Fred and George who were all scowling and talking in low voices. Something twisted inside him to see his father sitting near them.

"It'll calm down eventually." Said Lupin. Percy looked back at him and his throat stuck. "They aren't bad people. They just need an apology."

Percy looked away, feeling sick. He hated apologizing. Trying to avoid looking into Fred and George's corner, he inspected others. Most of the order had gone back to whatever conversation had occupied them before he arrived. It was not their problem. However, Moody watched him with his magical eye as he spoke with a witch Percy did not recognize.

Lupin leaned forward. "Every family is glad to have one of its own back, including yours."

Percy looked at his fingers. "I didn't expect much." He saw that his mother was sitting with Mr. Weasley, looking unhappy. "My father is slow to forgive."

Lupin was about to respond when Moody came to stand before their table. "Ministry didn't suit you?" he growled.

Percy looked up. "I quit." He said.

Moody raised his eyebrows. "Eh, bet they didn't like that.'

Despite his attempts to make polite conversation, Percy could tell that Moody wasn't welcoming him back. He suspected that Moody doubted his motives. "No, they probably didn't" he responded.

"You know why?" Said Moody, gruffly. "It's' cause of Dumbledore. His name's still dirt with the ministry even though he's dead."

Percy didn't answer. His eyes kept drifting over Fred and George and the crowd around them. He quietly excused himself and escaped to the stairway. His house looked no different. There were the same pictures, same clock, and same rooms. However, all the pictures that he'd been in had been removed and the subjects of what pictures they had now looked strained, as if they were only trying to be happy.

He made his way slowly up the stairs. There was no sign that he'd ever been in the family. As he climbed, he felt a prickle at his eyes. He suddenly felt very young. He wanted a parent, he wanted the parents he sworn never to talk to again. Was there any going back? Something told him it would never be how he wanted it to be. A terrible wave of nostalgia swept over him as he stepped into his old room. It had the same bed and empty chest of drawers, but stacked along the walls were boxes. It looked like a storage room, presumably for Fred and George's joke shop.

Percy collapsed on his old bed, and a cloud of dust ballooned outward from where he fell. Here he was, lying as he had so long ago; staring up at the same ceiling he'd seen every night. Below him, he heard the sounds of people talking and laughing. Either they hadn't noticed him go, or they didn't care. He was too old to cry, but he felt a tear anyway. He got up and looked out the window. It was the same view as always on the back yard of the house. He remembered sticking his head out and yelling at his brothers to be a little softer as they played Quidditch. He remembered seeing them zoom by on a broom every day. He remembered the snowballs that were magicked to hit his window when he was working. Back then, the antics of his brothers had been annoying, but now, he missed them. He found himself longing for the lighthearted jokes of Fred and George and Ginny's little footsteps as she walked by his room. But he knew this would never happen again. He'd left that life behind when he joined the ministry.

Quietly, he slipped out of his room and made his way back down the staircase to the back door. The sounds of happy celebration had not ceased and nor were they going to. He'd returned, and now it was time to go. On the way there, he'd been dreaming of welcoming arms and offers to stay, and he would probably get them if he went back into the living room to his old family, but he would never be a Weasley again.

He stepped outside and closed the door behind him, closed the door to his old life, closed the door to the life he could never have again.

**There you go... nice depressing ending... hope you guys liked it... please review.**


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